What Gyalchen Dorje Shugden Wants

Dorje Shugden wants us to:
soar the path of immortal liberation on unified wings of Sutra and Tantra.

He wants to:
increase Lozang the Victorious One’s Teachings, and the life span and activities of the Teachings’ upholders.

He wants to:
pacify all harm to us, the yogis and entourages, that arises because of previous karma and immediate conditions, and spontaneously accomplish, just as we wish, all good things, both spiritual and temporal.

For those who recognize him
as the supreme collected nature of all Gurus and Protective Deities,

He wants to
pour down a cool rain of the two siddhis.

Quotes from His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s prayer, Melody of the Unceasing Vajra

In short, Dorje Shugden wants us to practice authentic Dharma and gain authentic attainments. He wants us to get onto a valid path and keep us from straying from it; from falling into the abysses of eternalism and nihilism and the unfortunate karma created by doing so.

Does he feel only Lozang the Victorious One’s Teachings – Je Tsongkhapa’s Geluk tradition – are authentic and valid?

We don’t think so! An enlightened being is, of course, universal.

Buddha is not a Buddhist; Buddha is a Buddha. Manjushri/Yamantaka don’t belong to anyone exept to those who practice what they teach.

That Dorje Shugden has a special affinity with and loyalty to Nagarjuna and Je Tsongkhapa’s clarifications on the subtlest points regarding the nature of reality, and the Lamrim (see Lam Dre/Sakya, “Words of my perfect teacher” by Patrul Rinpoche/Nyingma, “Jewel ornament of liberation” by Gampopa/Kagyu) teachings, doesn’t mean his help is limited to Gelukpas. As an illustration of this, check out this thanka with Dorje Shugden and Guru Rinpoche.

His Holiness has taught on different occasions that madhyamika and dzogchen, as expounded by Mipham, arrive at the same result.

He has also stated (see for example His book, “Four Essential Commentaries”) that all the four traditions are based on bodhicitta and the prasangika madhyamika philosophy; in short, that there are differences in the methods applied, but not in the result.

It is true that Je Tsongkhapa’s realization and unmistakable explanations of emptiness have been praised as unique and supremely sublime by great masters of all traditions, such as His Holiness Gyalwa Mikyo Dorje, the eighth Karmapa:

You, o Tsong Khapa, are Tibet ’s chief exponent of voidness,
Having exposed false teachings transgressing the excellent ways well shown by the Buddha,
you firmly established your Bold Doctrine,
Anyone who disparages your doctrine must face the terrible wrath of the Dharma protectors”

From: In Praise of the Incomparable Tsongkhapa/ Life and Teachings of Tsong Khapa/Library of Tibetan works and archives

Does that mean the Karmapa is a Geluk fanatic? Or, more likely, as the holy being he was, did he rejoice in what he recognized as precious, and maybe encourage us to learn from it, just like Je Tsongkhapa did from masters of all lineages?…

Disagreement on crucial points is not between Nyingma and Geluk, etc. Roy Sutherwood writes in 1999’s September newsletter of The International Kalacakra Network (IKN),

“I think we should be aware that the differences between the Gelug and Jonang schools on the question of the nature of ultimate truth are intricately associated with the deep experiences of two great Kalacakra yogis, Tsong Khapa and Dolpopa.”

And,

“His Holiness presents some hard arguments about what he regards as the “inferior view of other-voidness (page 237, The Gelug/Kagyu Tradition of Mahamudra’, H.H. The Dalai Lama & Alexander Berzin, Wisdom Publications): ”

Even though it is called other-voidness, it is an extremely deficient and faulty assertion of other voidness. Many learned and experienced masters from the Sakya, Kagyu, Gelug and Nyingma traditions have refuted it.

In taking voidness of a self nature to be equivalent to total non-existence and dependent arising to mean arising dependent on unawareness, and asserting thoroughly established clear light mind as an other-voidness devoid of non-self-existence and this type of dependent arising, they are left with no alternative but that clear light mind is truly and inherently existent, existing through its own power, by virtue of itself. It is devoid not only of arising dependently on unawareness, but also of arising dependently by virtue simply of mental labelling.

Such assertion is clearly in total contradiction with what Nargarjuna has expounded. It basically contradicts the sutras. If we accept as the authentic words of the Buddha the expanded, intermediate and brief recensions of the Prajnaparamita sutras and take them as valid, this type of other-voidness view becomes untenable.

These are the teachings that we are adviced not to rely on, lest we pollute our understanding of emptiness, which is the only way to liberation, and liberation is what Gyalchen Dorje Shugden wants for us.

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3 total comments on this postSubmit yours
  1. All that Gyalchen Dorje Shugden wants is for us is to attain total liberation from suffering. In order to attain this we need to fully know and realize the right view of emptiness. Put in another way, he wants for us to be following an authentic Dharma path to liberation and enlightenment. He does not want us to stray from this path and fall into the “abysses of externalism and nihilism and the unfortunate karma created by doing so”.
    He does not say that we must only follow Je Tsongkhapa’s teachings as only his teachings are authentic and valid.
    He, however, has an affinity for, and loyalty to, Je Tsongkhapa’s teachings because of the unexcelled clarity of Je Tsongkhapa in presenting the teachings of Lord Buddha. He has a particularly strong affinity and loyalty to Nargajuna’s Middle View of Emptiness as taught by Tsongkhapa.(With regards to this, all great masters, even those from other lineages – such as the Eighth Karmapa – have praised as “unique and sublime”, the clarity of Je Tsongkhapa’s explanations of Emptiness). As knowing and realizing the right view of Emptiness is key to a Being’s liberation from suffering, it is clear why Dorje Shugden has become the Protector of Je Tsongkhapa’s teachings, particular his teachings on Nargajuna’s Middle View.
    Nevertheless, Dorje Shugden does not limit his help only to Gelug practitioners. This is evident in the thangka which portrays Dorje Shugden together with Guru Rinpoche.
    Indeed all lineages that teach the correct Middle View of emptiness are showing the authentic path to Liberation and Enlightenment.Methods may differ but the goals are the same for all the lineages.Thus there is no reason to suspect that Dorje Shugden practices ‘exclusivism’ in rendering help to only those who follow and practice Je Tsongkhapa’s teachings.

  2. Gyalchen Dorje Shugden is for all. It is us who differentiate. This lineage, that lineage. This hat that hat. Practice what your Lama tells you to and we gain merits the fastest way. Do not criticise others. We do not know about others.
    He does not differentiate. He will help all regardless of religion, race or gender.

  3. From the article it can be clearly seen that with what Dorje Shugden has installed for us, he is definitely an enlightened Dharma protector. All that he is requesting is all for the good of our own spiritual path, instead of something that is benefiting him.

    This article does not push a stand towards any side of the ban as well. In the beginning, we can see quotes from the Dalai Lama’s prayer, Melody of the Unceasing Vajra. Through this it allows readers to know that the article is not trying to push the reader towards any side of the ban, instead, it is an article to let us know more about what is the true meaning of practicing Buddhism, and Dorje Shugden’s practices.

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.…Instead of turning away people who practise Dorje Shugden, we should be kind to them. Give them logic and wisdom without fear, then in time they give up the ‘wrong’ practice. Actually Shugden practitioners are not doing anything wrong. But hypothetically, if they are, wouldn’t it be more Buddhistic to be accepting? So those who have views against Dorje Shugden should contemplate this. Those practicing Dorje Shugden should forbear with extreme patience, fortitude and keep your commitments. The time will come as predicted that Dorje Shugden’s practice and it’s terrific quick benefits will be embraced by the world and it will be a practice of many beings.

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